Intro
This is Sky MASTER, the new asset for Sky control and artistic design. The tool was inspired by the need to have fully controllable spectacular skies and dynamic clouds in Unity Free, with complete seasonal control, weather effects like rain, tornados, heavy strorms with lightning, snow storms with freeze and ice formation effects and much more.

The asset will make heavy use of Particle Dynamic Magic for the particle systems and dynamics, and will also include GI Proxy for Global Illumination effects, assigned to the sun. Spot and point light GI is also supported for night time and local lights.

(gif is not from a grabbed video, just 8 pics in succession)

SKY MASTER is envisioned as the ULTIMATE compatibility sky tool, for both Unity FREE and Pro and for all platforms.All Unity free and DX9 users can now enjoy spectacular physically based skies and dynamic clouds. Unity Pro users will of course benefit from extra screen effects and i plan to have special care for that as well.

- give spectacular skies and cloud rendering and dynamics in both Unity FREE and PRO, at blazing fast speeds.
- provide various methods for cloud simulation and lighting. Semi-volumetric, fully dynamic clouds is one of the options (most advanced).
- provide a method of dynamic Global Illumination approximation for the sun and also include spot & point light GI as well.
- give a controllable day/night cycle, with auto adjustment of scattering, clouds etc for that purpose
- be compatible with SM2.0, deferred and forward rendering, linear & gamma modes and both DX9 and DX11, plus will not require Unity Pro. Ultimate compatibility.
- give the option to render the sky to cube texture in Unity Pro and use it as Skybox.
- provide artistic and dynamic controls for the sky rendering (ring mode etc) and the cloud manipulation (local coloration, attractors, turbulence etc).
- be readilly compatible with ORK Framework (time variable control)

The "ADVANCED WEATHER" effects will include:

- REAL LIGHTNING: Lightning that can hit actual targets, even as they move and produce optional chain lighting effects

- REAL TORNADO: Tornado that can actually affect clouds as it passes by realistically

Features for later versions

Later the plan is to give an optional shader that will directly apply the effect to the Skybox, for extra speed.
But this will come after the initial version and if i manage to make it happen of course and will be a free bonus to the pack.

Future work includes

- making exact day/night cycles and positioning based on full year calendar.
- glows and effects for the moon (this may come in the initial release though)
- extra controls for even more cool artistic effect in all the included systems
- Advanced effect - special shaders for weather effects (like screen space splashes etc)
- Advanced effect - GOD RAYS (not 100% sure yet, this is more advanced, but i hope i can make it happen)
- Advanced effect - REAL CLOUD RAYS: Sun beams that emit from the clouds (not 100% sure yet, but certainly have done some progresss towards it)
- Advanced effect - REAL BLIZZARD: Freezing storm that will actually generate ice on selected meshes and make ice stick on the hero.
and much more.

There will be two versions of the asset - The "CORE" and " ULTIMATE":

The "Core" version will not have Global Illumination or the Advanced Dynamic Weather effects (it will have weather effects, just not the very advanced ones, like cloud manipulation from the hero etc), but will be compatible with my GI Proxy tool,so everyone that has the pack or buy it, will enjoy GI with the core version as well.

The "ULTIMATE" version will have both Global Illumination and the Advanced Weather effects, plus a big collection of skies to use.

Images

Here is a gif that shows the cloud progression. (not very good quality, i took this frame by frame)

Wow. This looks like a very nice asset. Just a quick question, though: how much will it cost?

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Thanks a lot, glad you like it

I plan to have a "CORE" version for 30$ initially. This will not include my GI Proxy pack and some of the most advanced particle effects. But will be compatible with GI Proxy that is already on the store, so can be upgraded with GI later.

And an "ULTIMATE" one for 50$ initial price, that will include GI Proxy pack & some extra advanced dynamic and particle effects.

Both packs will have the clouds in all their glory, only the level of interaction will be different.

All early adopters will get any update for free, for eternity , as with all my other packs.

Thanks, keep in mind this is heavy WIP, so everything will get an extra layer of coolness by release. For example the cloud lighting is still not in sync with the sun and the multilayer lighting is not yet in (though the system to back it up is ready).

The plan is to make it work on every platform and Unity version. I have already made sure it works in SM2.0, DX9 (and DX11) and forward/deferred. Plus i always test assets on my laptop, so from a performance standpoint so far the sky effect is super fast, i will test on the phone with clouds too, so i can report which of the various cloud systems is best to use for optimal performance.

The test on the phone will probably happen sometime this week, so i will report back how this went.

I constantly come up with effects that even i never though i would create, it is so fun working on this one. And wait to see this in proper motion, i will post all 8 high res PNGs to cycle through, to get the proper feeling .

The system is very robust right now, so the release could be very soon, but i have some rough spots in the day cycle and cloud higher level of motion (how they move around the map). I would like to have a perfect system before releasing, so hopefully i can submit the week after this one.

I will start posting demos with updates this week though, so everyone can test and comment on possible issues or provide suggestions for improvements.

Looking really cool!
I do notice though shouldn't the sky NOT be visible in the center of the eclipse in the last screenshot (and the previous ones too, I suppose?) Unless it's not a sun/moon in the sky, but a glowing ring - but I don't think that's the case. It does look pretty cool though!

Looking really cool!
I do notice though shouldn't the sky NOT be visible in the center of the eclipse in the last screenshot (and the previous ones too, I suppose?) Unless it's not a sun/moon in the sky, but a glowing ring - but I don't think that's the case. It does look pretty cool though!

I'm looking forward to this asset!

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Thanks

Also dont worry, this is not an eclipse , it is just the moon that does not have the proper lighting yet from the sun and the halo is not yet adjusted depending on how the moon is lit. For example in this case the sun is directly opposite and the moon should be black and not have a halo, which of course is to be adjusted and the system is ready to handle.

Also the clouds are an extra layer below the main shaded dome, and are not yet adjusted for lighting conditions, that is what i am working on right now, the cloud lighting. I have some trully spactacular transitions from day to night , especially on the dynamic clouds is epic.

So consider this pic as heavy WIP and about to change completly , that is, besides the moon halo.

I also plan to have a light penetration into night factors, that is how much light is allowed in all the systems as dusk moves to night and for how long. So the cloud coloring and lighting will be fully adjustable (and will have many presets too)

I am on to the cloud shadows right now. There are many options, like projected, from the particles, from invisible object in the cloud, maybe procedurally changing etc

I will probably use an aproximated with projection first, since the particle shadows could be rather heavy and probably will contain pointless detail that would not enchance the scene as much as the penalty for that.

The first attempt at a fully auto adjustable day/night 24hour cycle is now finished !!! Everything changes as day goes to dusk, night and back to day. All dynamic cloud system changes are done and only thing missing are the static clouds, which should be straingforward.

Now on to adding some cool variation to the effect and a slider that will move it from realistic to move vibrant - cartooney, to cover for all possible scenarios.

Another thing i did was to create a shader for the Skybox, i dont yet have the full scattering one from the dome there, but i got some new spectacular effects using what i have made so far, so this shader will be part of the collection as it is, it is ideal for exaggerated sun and coloration, so i decided to have it also as option.

After all the pack is about getting spectacular artistic skies and every option would be helpfull for that purpose.

To clarify further, these are the available sky rendering methods, currently:

1. Skydome shader with atmospheric scattering, the main approach
2. Skybox shader - artistic
3. System to render the Skydome to a cubemap and apply to Skybox or anywhere required

And these are the available cloud systems:

1. Fully Dynamic clouds, rotating around the map and follow wind dynamics
2. Static dynamic clouds, for clouds that need to feel dynamic but remain on the spot
3. Flat cloud bed, for full or partial cloud coverage
4. Cloud dome, for the far away extra effect and coloration

The main sky effect is now tested on Android and works great. I get a 5fps dfference with the sky vs no sky. My phone is probably one of the slowest on the market, so that difference should be less in other proper phones.

I plan to release two WIP apk demos, for everyone interested to test it on Android and see the performance. One demo will have dynamic 3D clouds and will be rather heavy, so this is a stress test for the most powerfull of phones and the other will be just sky.

Notes:
The "Sun beams" preset is the initial setting. The rest can be turned on/off by the buttons.

The parameters can be accessed individually (with "Enable Controls" button), but will override the current day/night cycle. To see the cycle, just let it go once from day to night to day again.

There are two rain types and are toggled by the "rain type" button. The clouds will be visible in day time, so let it be light and put speed to zero to remain in day and test the clouds better. The Snow storm looks best at night, since i have not adjusted the lighting and sky for it yet.

I would love to see opinions and suggestions for further work. Keep in mind this is WIP, so many things need to be tweaked further, optimized and added.

About the "ultimate" version, it will certainly contain the full pack of GI Proxy in it.

The Particle Dynamic Magic though is very expanse and has so many systems that are not all relevant to the Sky system, so i think that it would confuse a lot to have it whole in. What i do now is get the base scripts from PDM and adapt them to the tasks i need for Sky Master, so this will give a much cleaner and more specific solution.

At the very least, expect to have the relevant parts of PDM enchanced and adapted to the Sky system, as needed. I expect Turbulence and forces to be 100% in, i dont know yet about Splines, Gameobject Particles, Painting/spray modes, Transitions, Particle to Particle collissions etc, some of these may come at the first release, others could also be WIP for later versions.

I am also open to ideas as to how PDM could/should be used in Sky Master, for new cool effects and situations.

Also flocking and projection will be in as well. I dont know if will come in v1.0, but are already planned.

About the sci-fi idea, is very cool. Making the shader with more light sources gets more expensive though, so expanding could lead to a SM3.0 shader, but would be cool to have as option, i will definitly see how i can do that in the least expensive way.

Also for everyone that tried the demo and feels like the performance is not great in some of the effects, please let me know so i can focus optimizations further or offer more quality level options.

Added an "enable fog" option, to use fog depending on case. This is particularly useful for morning times and the storms, that need to occlude the items behind the main storm. I will also add the proper fog transitions based on situation.

Now i am looking at how i can alter the terrain color tints, to have a seasonal change demo. The plan is to change seasons properly, with the sky having a season based mood and the clouds/rain get more intense.

There will be a collection and setup of sounds for the transition as well.

Also i am working on the realistic version of the clouds, the demo has the more artistic version enabled.

Lightning system is now 90% complete and looks super cool and dynamic. It will be featured in the next demo.

Also now i am working on the freeze and butterfly systems, for the PDM enabled version.

I am thinking of having an offer for the first release, i will pack in all effects (PDM effects too) and have the pack at 35$ for early adopters, probably for a week or two. Then this pack will be updated to the "Ultimate" version, with GI Proxy and more PDM effects and will be priced at 70-80$. The core version will then be released at 60$ (or maybe i have a lower initial price too).

What do you think ? Initially it wont have GI Proxy implemented, since i want to get this right and have it in an update later.

For me, Sky Master so far isn't providing anything new, as I already have some good sun / sky / cloud / rain / snow tools. I'm looking forward to seeing your implementation of the lightning, tornado, and freeze, to see if there is any advantage there.

As for the GI Proxy ... will it be embedded into the Sky Master code, or will it be more like the GI Proxy asset is included with the pack and you're free to use the GI Proxy (or not) on other things as desired?

For me, Sky Master so far isn't providing anything new, as I already have some good sun / sky / cloud / rain / snow tools. I'm looking forward to seeing your implementation of the lightning, tornado, and freeze, to see if there is any advantage there.

As for the GI Proxy ... will it be embedded into the Sky Master code, or will it be more like the GI Proxy asset is included with the pack and you're free to use the GI Proxy (or not) on other things as desired?

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Sure, these will all come in the next demo, most of the work is already done too.And i am open to more ideas of what could be in there. Plus i have some unique dynamic clouds from an artistic point of view, that will get expanded with more systems later and a full seasonal system.

GI Proxy will be the pack as it is in the store, with its own directory and namespace, but i will have ready scenes and prefabs with it adapted to the sun system and a complete day/night setup made specifically for the Sky Master.

This way, GI Proxy users will be able to use it with Sky Master core version.

Also one of the major aspects of the pack, will be the artistic implementation of the seasons and automatic changes to every aspect of sky and various scene elements.

Here is the manipulated version of the tornado, it can change local color in real time (reddish here) and move towards any moving point (the axis shown in the editor pic), these will be enchancements for the ultimate version, for total control of the effect.

Also local turbulence, attract/repel forces and much more can be applied for cool interactive effects.

Of course these can also be cast by the hero as well and will move to the cast direction following the ground.

The integration with the editor is now done and the effect can be tweaked in Editor mode as well. I have also tested the initialization of the system and it can start emulation at any chose from the Editor time point.

I am finishing with the freeze effect and i will post a new demo today if all goes well.

The system will also have a save and restore state feature (immediate or lerp) which will come in the first update. I wont release this on the first version because i want to see comments on what functionality should be in this, plus get it perfect since it will be rather complex to program to perfection

As a first step i have though of saving all cloud color, cloud type and sky, fog etc information, plus season and time and have the ability to lerp to that on demand from a current state or activate a lerp to these settings in a specific day or days of the month. This way it is possible to have the exact look for a day or range of days.

What do you think of this system and what other feature could it provide besides the above to give better control ?

This will be one of the major features of the system, since i have always cought myself making all that cool light placement and mood configuration and then have no way to implement it to my day/night cycle.

So another step would be to match both sun height and horizontal rotation to the saved state and lerp automatically to that when the alignment is right, for the specific season and day range (or all days of the season).
.

Press "Cycle Season", "Toggle Tornado", "Rain Type" and "Snow Storm" buttons multiple times to switch the various effects. Heavy clouds have a chance to appear in Autumn, so if they dont, cycle to Autumn a few more times until they do

The whole season automation effects are almost done, only rain needs a few more tweaks and the sound system is next. The third demo will be released soon with those included and will probably be the last demo before release.

Also more cloud types have been added and integraded in the season control as well.

Thanks .
I also come up with more ideas constantly. Now i am working on two heavy clouds colliding and producing lightning in the collision areas. This could be extra fun if i provide a cloud manipulator so a mage could bring the clouds together and make the collisions start.

Fully volumetric particle clouds will also be available, just finished the base of the system and only a few more angles need to be resolved, mainly when the camera is just above or below the cloud.Circling the cloud is working pefectly and most angles above or below work fine as well already.

This will also enable some cool volumetric fog when finished. Also i will enable some thickness and rotation variance modes, for cool parametric cloud formations.

Oops...

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